1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to table top games and more particularly relates to an improved table top football game apparatus which is played on a table top surface having a plurality of generally horizontal slots with football player figurines traveling in the slots.
2. General Background
American football is a game which uses a field one hundred yards in length and which has two ten yard deep end zones. The field is marked in ten yard increments. During play a team carries the football for successive downs attempting to move the ball to the end zone for a score.
Football is a well publicized and popular sport and there are numerous miniature versions of football in the form of indoor games which include numerous variations.
In one variation, "electric football", a vibrating, usually metallic board surface is used. The eleven offensive and eleven defensive football player figurines are placed on the board, each player figurine having an undersurface which is beveled tending to move the players forwardly when they vibrate upon the board. The vibration is caused by a small eccentric motor mounted underneath the board. Play is started by turning the electric motor on, and moving the eccentric to vibrate the board. When the offensive player is touched by one of the defensive player, the play is over.
In other versions of football, playing cards can be used to deal from a stack a certain play which is random and chance. In another version of a miniature game of football, a spinning pointer can be used to designate the yards that an offensive player moves at each time the ball is advanced.
Most of these table top forms of miniature football are relatively simplistic and uncomplicated thus becoming somewhat boring to the user after a short period of time.
The present invention provides a much more sophisticated and complex football game which requires manual as well as mental skills on the part of the player having movement of both foot petals and hand operated slides, and requiring good instincts for timely raising and lowering cam surfaces which are used to avoid and/or make tackles.
Thus, the present invention provides a challenging, complicated, complex and many faceted football apparatus which closely simulates the real game.
The table top game surface is in the form of a large table such as for example the present, commonly seen football table top units as well as the table top soccer and air hockey games as far as size and scale. However, the present invention is more complicated providing a complex variation of plays and moves as well as a complex combination of foot petals and hand slides which make the game fascinating, challenging, and exciting.